Ed Note: Lyndsey D’Arcangelo is a seasoned sports writer, author and women’s sports advocate. She previously wrote about women’s basketball for The Athletic and is the co-author of Hail Mary: The Rise and Fall of the National Women’s Football League.
Everywhere you look, women’s sports are exploding.
From the record attendance set in the first few months of the Professional Women’s Hockey League (PWHL) and the incredible debut of the Pro Volleyball Federation to the continued draw and intrigue of the USWNT and sold out stadiums in the NWSL. But with the NCAA Tournament fast approaching and the madness of March already underway, women’s college basketball is currently holding center court. A regular season rematch between Iowa vs. Ohio State on Fox drew an average 3.4 million viewers on Sunday afternoon, peaking at 4.2 million. The numbers were higher than TNT’s NBA Opening Night games at the start of the season and NBA phenom Victor Wembanyama’s professional debut on ESPN.
Iowa superstar Caitlin Clark topping Pistol Pete Maravich’s all-time scoring record in Division I college basketball was certainly an integral part of the draw in viewership. So much so, that Fox reportedly considered offering Clark an NIL deal to stay in college for another year instead of opting to go pro. But as good as Clark is and has been throughout her college career, there’s more to it than that.
While it might read like an overnight success story, the rise of women’s basketball is anything but. Much like a pop star who’s been working behind the scenes for years, putting in overtime at the studio, playing shows at local malls and area music joints, only to hit it big on Tik Tok and land a lucrative record deal, those involved at every level of the sport have been grinding. For years.
If you watch one thing on the internet today….let it be this
An emotional Kenny Brooks addresses the growth of women's basketball after today's record breaking attendance numbers: pic.twitter.com/T2JSx1f3zA
— anne-parker coleman (@anneparkercole1) March 4, 2024
It’s been said (too) many times recently that “women’s basketball is having a moment.” It’s not a moment. It’s an arrival. One that has been a long time coming. Women’s sports overall have been moving in an upward trajectory for years. The rise and growth are a direct result of increased investment, visibility, accessibility, social media content by fans, players, coaches, owners, etc., as well as the dedication and hard work of independent journalists, content creators, newsletters, blogs and smaller media sites.
There’s no denying the Caitlin Clark effect when it comes to women’s basketball. It’s driving viewership and interest levels never seen before. But now that we’re here — at a defining place and time when the demand for women’s college basketball deserves a wealth of coverage, informed takes, and educated analysis — mainstream sports media has been largely ill-prepared for the task at hand. Sports talks shows and podcasts are dominated by male hosts who are unequipped to discuss the multiple unique moments and happenings across women’s sports currently dominating the headlines. It’s evident how much they lack the experience, knowledge, awareness and context to intelligently add to the conversation and give an informed take.
When Sabrina Ionescu and Steph Curry went head-to-head from NBA range in a 3-point shootout during NBA All-Star Weekend, the audience peaked at 5.4 million viewers. The world was watching and continued to watch (and cringe) as TNT’s Kenny Smith declared that Ionescu should have been shooting from the women’s 3-point line instead. Had Smith simply brushed up on Ionescu before the event, he would have known that she shoots comfortably from the NBA 3-point line with ease and does so regularly through the WNBA season.
Last week, when Clark made the official announcement that she was declaring for the WNBA and not returning to Iowa for her fifth and final year of eligibility, the news shook the sports world from top to bottom. Yet multiple sports media guys with far-reaching platforms and large followings took it upon themselves to post on social media, make a statement on a podcast or a soundbite on a TV show stating that Clark would lose money and/or take a pay cut in the WNBA. Again, a little research goes a long way.
Lord, give me all the confidence of a misinformed sports media guy with a large following who tweets about Caitlin Clark taking a pay cut when she goes to the WNBA
I will use this power for good and not evil
— Lyndsey D'Arcangelo 🏀 (@darcangel21) March 5, 2024
NFL guru Dan Orlovsky was aghast to learn that the UConn women’s basketball team “can flat out play” and told Stephen A. Smith as much on a recent episode of First Take. The problem isn’t that he’s a new fan, because that’s great. It’s how he positioned it . . . on a popular nationally-televised sports show with a massive audience. He was “shocked” at the talent and physicality of the Huskies, which came across as demeaning. Tone matters. Had he familiarized himself with women’s basketball before, taken in a game or two and digested what he saw, he would have been fully prepared to contribute to the conversation in a much more productive way. As much as women are expected to study, learn, absorb, speak intelligently about multiple men’s sports teams, leagues and athletes, the expectation should be the same for their male counterparts.
The growth and interest in women’s sports is going to keep rising. It’s up to the sports media landscape to evolve and grow along with it. And by growth, I don’t mean suction cup itself to one trending topic, team or player and hammer it into the ground until every single angle has been exhausted. Broaden the lens. While the primary focus right now has been on Clark and the coverage is warranted, don’t stop there. Clark is the doorway for new fans just getting into women’s basketball. Once they walk through, show them the whole damn room.
Introduce them to Dyaisha Fair, a five-foot-five Western New York product who went from the University at Buffalo to Syracuse and recently became the fifth all-time leading scorer in women’s college basketball. Talk about freshmen standouts JuJu Watkins, who dropped 51 points and broke the single-game USC scoring record, and Hannah Hidalgo, who’s a force on both ends of the floor for Notre Dame. Highlight underdog stories like the Fairfield Stags, redemption stories like UConn’s Paige Bueckers, and South Carolina’s dominance as the only undefeated team in women’s and men’s college basketball this season.
The NCAA Tournament is right around the corner. Last year, the Final Four averaged 4.5 million viewers. The championship game averaged just under 10 million. This year, those numbers could be even higher. All eyes will be on the women’s game as the bracket unfolds from round to round. There will be highlights, upsets, underdogs, villains, heroes, memorable plays, bad calls, last second shots, incredible individual performances, silly quotes, taunting, etc. In other words, storylines galore.
Will sports media rise to the occasion and give women’s basketball the educated, constructive and balanced coverage it deserves?
The ball is in their court.
